Where You Plant Your Heart
Notes
Transcript
Me
Me
Casimir Pulaski Day 2007, is not a day most people remember
But it ended up changing my high school and college years
It was the day that I got braces that would be with me for the next 7 years of my life!
I had played trumpet since fifth grade, and in the middle of Junior Year, the braces came
I wasn’t the best player, but I was solid
Second trumpet part. Reliable. Confident.
I knew my role, and I enjoyed it.
But after I got braces, literally overnight, everything changed.
My mouth hurt constantly.
My lips were torn up,
Sometimes bloodied from playing
And I lost my all my note range
It felt like I went from being a competent high school player back to sixth grade.
Everyone told me the same thing.
“Stick with it.”
“When the braces come off, you’ll be even better.”
“Just keep practicing.”
And that all sounded right.
But there was just one problem,
I hardly practiced then,
So if anything, I practiced less.
Not because I suddenly hated trumpet.
But because staying with it was painful.
And slowly, without ever making a big decision to quit,
I drifted
I still showed up. I still played.
But any joy was gone.
And once the joy was gone,
The desire to continue to play didn’t last very long either.
Fast forward to my freshman year of college.
I decided to try out for band.
The braces were still on.
The range was still gone.
I remember asking if I could get second trumpet parts
because I just couldn’t play first trumpet range.
They listened, and then they offered me something else.
They said, “We’d love to have you play French horn.”
And I said no.
Not just because French horn is an inferior instrument
But because in my mind,
I was still a trumpet player.
Looking back, that moment says a lot.
The problem wasn’t primarily ability.
And it wasn’t even circumstances.
I just wanted to be a trumpet player,
but I didn’t want to put in the extra practice it would take to play through the braces.
I wanted the fruit.
I wanted the label.
But I didn’t want to change how I practiced,
Or rather lack thereof
And nothing grows, if nothing changes
That’s why this matters:
Abiding is choosing where you plant your heart.
Because where you plant your heart shapes what you love and what your life produces.
Most of us don’t stop growing because we don’t care.
We stop growing because staying there gets difficult.
Or because changing something feels like giving something up
Or because we want the fruit without reordering our lives around growth.
So without ever deciding to quit, we quietly drift away
You might not have played trumpet,
but I think you’ve felt the tension of wanting fruit
without reordering your life around growth.
We
We
Most of us don’t quit the things that shape us with a dramatic decision
We don’t usually wake up one day and say,
“I’m done growing.”
“I’m done caring.”
“I’m done trying.”
It’s usually quieter than that.
Most of us don’t quit with a big announcement.
We don’t say, “I’m done with my faith.”
We say, “I’m just tired.”
We don’t say, “I don’t care anymore.”
We say, “I’ll get back to it later.”
We get discouraged.
We get tired.
We get hurt.
And instead of changing anything, we just stay less.
We still show up.
Maybe it’s just one less service a month.
Or one less day opening the Bible.
We still participate.
But prayer gets shorter.
Scripture gets skimmed.
And staying doesn’t happen as often.
We still look committed from the outside.
But inside, something has shifted.
The joy fades.
The desire fades.
And eventually, the growth fades too.
Not because we stopped believing.
Not because we stopped caring.
But because staying started to cost more than we wanted to give.
That’s why this idea of abiding matters:
Abiding is choosing where you plant your heart.
Because most of the time,
We don’t lose our way by rejecting what matters.
We lose our way by slowly planting ourselves somewhere else.
And here’s the uncomfortable part.
None of that feels rebellious.
It just feels reasonable.
Because changing something often feels like giving something up.
And staying where we are usually feels easier than reordering our lives around growth.
So without ever deciding to quit, we slowly drift.
God
God
This Psalm is not written to scold us for drifting,
What it does is acknowledge that drift is real, and tells us the reason why it happens
It lays out how we live our lives, and the choices we make or don’t make, impact what our lives bring about
What it does is give us why we drift,
And what it looks like to have a life of being planted by God’s ways
Abide by Delight, not Determination (v.1-2a)
Abide by Delight, not Determination (v.1-2a)
So the Psalmist begins with a statement that frames all the Psalms,
Not about God outright, but about those that seek to follow God, what that life will result in
Blessed is the man, the woman, the child, the person that follows God
It is easy for us to read blessed and think about
A well paying job, a happy marriage, plenty in the bank account
We think, man, I want that nice smooth and easy life, and that is what we think blessed is
Unfortunately, that is the American view of blessed,
Not the Scriptural meaning
Blessedness in Scripture is not about circumstance
It is about rootedness
It is not about living a pain free life,
It is about being rooted in the right person, when life is painful
Psalm 1 is not talking about the situations we are forced into.
It’s talking about where we choose to anchor our hearts,
Especially when life has already wounded us.
To say it another way, in God’s plan for you,
You are blessed if you are growing to become the person he desires you to be!
So Scripture tells us that being blessed is about who we are becoming, rather than what we are producing
In order to become the person that God wants us to be, that requires us to cultivate a relationship with Jesus, and pursue it
Not through willpower, but through where we place our hearts
That is why we see the metaphor put forth here is both showing what we do, or don’t do
So it says our actions plant us like a tree near some sort of stream
The Psalmist describes these choices
Not walking in certain council
Not standing on certain paths
Not sitting in certain seats
So it is not about isolated sins as much as it is about lifestyle choices, and where our life settles
This is a psalm of wisdom, not legalism
It is warning us to be careful where we linger, because where we linger will shape what we love
This is where we start to see why determination and delight are the start of the tension we feel in our relationship with Jesus
Delight says you will stay near what reshapes your desires
Determination says you will try harder to do better
Growth does not begin with white knuckle resolve
It begins when our affections begin to change
This is why abiding matters,
it is actively choosing where you plant your heart
Since where you plant your heart will shape what you love, and what your life brings about
When you think about tree’s,
They still go through storms, and droughts, and all sorts of adversity!
Yet, the strong ones, the resilient ones have roots that run deep
The roots grow and allow the tree to survive
When the storms and droughts come, not if.
Because when the storm or drought comes,
It is too late to grow roots,
What you have will be what you have at that point!
What the Psalmist also outlines is to point out that part of abiding, is where our affections are
Who we walk, and stand and sit with matters
It is also why the author says the one who is blessed delights in the law of the Lord, or the teaching of God
That person delights in doing God’s way of living, and all that it entails,
It also means that it is more than a checklist of to do’s
The reason this person is not found among the wicked,
Or the anti-blessed is because their values are diametrically opposed
Now, it might be easy to think that Psalm 1 here is saying what we should do is to build a Christian bubble!
All you need to do is avoid bad influences,
Surround yourself with the good influences,
And you will be great to be blessed!
The only problem, is that thinking that way is contrary to the gospel
It is also disingenuous,
Since even the most upright of people of God still has parts and habits of their lives that are not perfect
It is not ‘them out there’ vs ‘us in here’,
Since the battle is about the blessed and unblessed parts within each of us
Because ultimately, there is only one righteous, truly blessed one,
That is Jesus!
Jesus had ultimate delight at the Father’s commands, teachings, and way of life
Jesus did not walk in the council of the wicked,
Yet he walked among sinners, and called them to turn to God
Jesus did not sit in the seat of scoffers,
Yet he did eat with them
The gospel is not about trying harder to be better,
It is not worthless moralism,
Although many treat it like that
We are not blessed because we stay perfectly rooted,
We can’t
No, we are blessed because Jesus did stay perfectly rooted and faithful
Even when we don’t
Abide by Presence, not Performance (v.2b)
Abide by Presence, not Performance (v.2b)
So if delight is not something we force,
If our loves are shaped by where we stay,
Then the question becomes how that delight is actually formed.
Psalm 1 doesn’t leave that vague.
It says this about the blessed person:
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
That phrase day and night is important.
It doesn’t describe intensity.
It describes presence.
Not doing more.
Not trying harder.
But staying near.
Which leads us to the second movement of this psalm,
We abide by presence in relationship, not our performance
We plant our hearts in relationship with Jesus,
Not in what we can produce for Jesus!
That phrase day and night matters.
It doesn’t mean this person is constantly reading Scripture
It doesn’t mean nonstop religious activity.
It doesn’t mean spiritual intensity
It describes presence.
This person keeps God’s word close.
They return to it.
They linger with it
They even long for it at times
They let it stay near enough to shape how they think,
It drives how they interpret life,
And how they respond when things are hard.
That day and night terminology isn’t describing a church ministry schedule
It is describing ordinary life
For most of us, abiding looks like
Traffic.
Work.
Dishes.
Laundry.
Fatigue.
Trying to fall asleep while your mind won’t slow down
This is where Psalm 1 says our formation happens
Not outside these moments, but right in the middle of these mundane things
Perhaps one of the best examples of this is a priest named Father Lawrence
You might not know his name,
He was a French priest who lived in the 1600’s
The reason you don’t know of him, is he did nothing grand,
He was not the teacher of the monks,
He was not the worship leader,
His job at the monastery was washing dishes
And he wrote about learning to practice the presence of God
Not by doing more spiritual things,
but by staying aware of God in the things he was already doing
He would notice/remember/think of God, offer a short prayer,
And then go right back to his work.
Much like many of us!
When his mind wandered away from God,
He didn’t spiral into guilt.
He simply noticed, and returned.
Over time, that returning became more natural.
He didn’t learn to pray all the time by doing more.
He learned by coming back to God more often.
That’s what Psalm 1 means by day and night.
Not constant religious activity.
But continual availability.
Presence, not performance.
Meditation in Psalm 1 is not about doing more.
It’s about staying longer.
That’s an important distinction.
Because most of us don’t replace delight with rebellion.
We replace delight with performance.
Performance says,
“As long as I check the box, I’m fine.”
Presence says,
“I want to stay near, even when there’s nothing to show for it.”
Performance is focused on output.
Presence is focused on relationship.
The danger of performance
Is that it looks spiritual on the outside,
but it slowly disconnects us on the inside.
And when presence fades and is replaced by performance,
delight fades with it.
We can read Scripture without deepening our walk with Jesus
We can pray without listening.
We can show up for ministry without really being there.
And over time,
When presence fades, when the relationship grows stagnant,
Delight fades with it.
That’s why drift is so subtle.
We don’t stop believing.
We don’t stop attending.
We don’t stop identifying as Christians.
We just stop staying near to Christ, and abiding in him
Psalm 1 invites us back to something simpler and deeper.
Not better performance.
Not more impressive discipline.
But presence, and relationship
Returning to God’s word
Not because it is a magic spell, but because it reveals who God is
As we get to know him more, our relationship with him deepens
So we let the Bible shape our imagination.
Allowing it to confront us, comfort us, and reform our loves.
This is where it’s important to say clearly:
Spiritual practices don’t create life.
They place us where life can grow.
They don’t manufacture delight.
They help cultivate it.
That’s why abiding matters.
We don’t abide to prove our devotion.
We abide to remain connected to the source of life, Jesus
When a life stays connected and planted in Jesus, good fruit will come in time
Not because we forced it, or tried harder,
But because the life flowing through us, will show outwardly
Fruit is not the goal of abiding.
Relationship is.
Fruit is simply what grows when that relationship is alive.
So if abiding is the goal,
And if presence and relationship are what we’re cultivating,
Then the question becomes:
What happens over time when a life actually stays rooted?
Psalm 1 doesn’t rush us.
It simply shows us what eventually grows
From where we stay connected.
The question is not if there will be results,
but what those results will be.
That leads us to the third movement of this psalm
Abide for Fruit, not Fortune (v.3-6)
Abide for Fruit, not Fortune (v.3-6)
Psalm 1 now moves from delight, to presence, to what grows over time.
And notice what the psalm does not do.
It does not command fruit.
It does not pressure results.
It simply describes what happens when a life stays rooted.
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither” (v.3).
Fruit is not the goal.
Fruit is the result.
Abiding is the aim.
Fruit is the evidence that life is flowing.
The tree does not strain to produce fruit.
It doesn’t panic.
It doesn’t compare itself to other trees.
It stays planted.
And over time, something grows.
Psalm 1 is careful to say that the tree yields its fruit in its season.
That matters.
Because some seasons feel productive, and some seasons feel quiet.
Some seasons feel visible, and others feel hidden.
And Psalm 1 gives us permission to stop confusing speed with faithfulness.
Growth does not always look impressive, but it is still real.
The tree is not anxious about timing.
It stays rooted and trusts the process.
The psalm also tells us something else: “Its leaf does not wither.”
That doesn’t mean the tree never faces heat.
It doesn’t mean droughts never come.
It means the tree remains alive even when conditions are harsh.
This is not a promise of comfort.
It’s a promise of resilience.
Abiding doesn’t remove storms.
But it gives you roots deep enough to endure them.
But Psalm 1 is also honest.
It doesn’t only show us what grows from abiding in Jesus
It also shows us what happens when a life does not stay rooted.
“The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away” (v.4).
That image is important.
Chaff is not evil in the dramatic sense.
It’s not rebellious.
It’s simply weightless,
And so it is unable to endure
It has no roots. No substance. Nothing holding it in place.
So when the wind comes, it doesn’t stand.
It scatters.
Psalm 1 is not mocking anyone here.
It’s describing what happens when a life never stays rooted in the right source long enough to grow.
That’s why verses 5 and 6 matter so much.
“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
This is not about God being impatient or harsh.
It’s about trajectories.
One way leads to stability, rootedness, and life.
The other leads to fragmentation and loss.
And notice this final line: “The Lord knows the way of the righteous.”
That word knows is relational.
It’s not just awareness.
It’s care. It’s attention. It’s covenant.
The rooted life is not self-sustained.
It is seen, known, and helped by God.
Psalm 1 is wisdom, not threat.
It’s not saying, “Do this or else.”
It’s saying, “Pay attention to where you stay.”
Because over time, where you plant your life determines what grows.
Because Abiding is choosing where you plant your heart.
and where you plant your heart shapes what you love,
And what your life produces.
So Psalm 1 leaves us with a quiet but weighty invitation.
Not to strive for outcomes.
Not to chase fortune.
The kind of success that looks impressive but isn’t rooted
Not to perform.
But to abide.
To stay rooted.
To remain present.
To trust that life connected to Jesus will, in time, bear good fruit.
Not because we forced it.
Not because we earned it.
The tree was planted by the source of life, Jesus,
and staying rooted there is what leads to fruit that can endure hardship.
You
You
So Psalm 1 doesn’t leave us with a checklist.
It leaves us with a way of life.
This year, our theme is Abide.
Not doing more for God.
Not striving harder for spiritual growth.
But to learn how to stay, and to abide
Because Abiding is choosing where you plant your heart.
and where you plant your heart shapes what you love,
And what you love is what your life produces.
Psalm 1 doesn’t asks us to evaluate our beliefs
It challenges us to evaluate where our lives are planted near
So let’s ask the question,
Not what you believe.
Not what you intend
But where has your heart has actually been staying.
Because most of us don’t walk away from God with a dramatic announcement.
We don’t say, “I’m done with my faith.”
We say, “I’m just tired.”
We don’t say, “I don’t care anymore.”
We say, “I’ll get back to it later.”
Drift rarely looks rebellious.
It looks and feels reasonable.
And over time,
Without ever deciding to quit,
we simply stop staying
We still show up.
We still participate.
But our hearts are planted somewhere else.
So Psalm 1 tells us to slow down and notice:
Where have you planted your heart lately?
Not where you want it to be.
Not where it used to be.
But where it is actually drawing life from right now.
For some of us, our hearts are planted in what we can produce.
For others, in approval, control, comfort, distraction, or fear
These are different strategies, but the same root:
Trying to source life apart from God.
Trying to abide by a fickle stream of nourishment
Those streams of identity promise life.
But over time, they can’t sustain it.
But here’s the good news.
Abiding does not start with doing more.
It starts with returning.
So instead of asking,
“What should I add to my spiritual life?”
Psalm 1 invites us to ask,
“What would it look like to replant my heart today?”
That might look very simple.
Opening Scripture
Not to get through a chapter, but to linger with a verse
Not because it’s what a good Christian does,
But because you want to deepen your walk with Jesus
Pausing once or twice a day to acknowledge God’s presence,
Not fix anything, but notice God in the mundane
He’s with you unclogging the toilet as much as singing worship at church
Letting God show up in the ordinary as well as the extra-ordinary
Letting God’s Word shape how you respond to your stress,
At your work, or in your relationships
When you are forced out of your comfort zone,
How do you treat others is a good way to gauge what fruit your life is making
Not as a new standard to meet.
But as a place to stay.
As a relationship to cultivate
Because abiding is choosing where you plant your heart.
And where you plant your heart shapes what you love
and what your life produces.
So the takeaway today, and really for this year, is not to strive harder,
but to notice where you’ve been rooted.
Where you have been getting nourishment from
And gently replant your heart near the source of life again, Jesus
You won’t do it perfectly,
That’s not the goal
It may not be impressive.
It will likely be slow and ordinary.
But it will be intentional.
And over time,
what you stay rooted in will grow.
Benediction
Benediction
May the Lord plant you like a tree by streams of water.
May your roots grow deep in Christ.
May you endure when storms come and bear fruit in the right season.
And may you go knowing that the Lord knows your way,
watches over your life, and walks with you through it
And All God’s People Said,
Amen.
